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How have the Olympics made the World a better place?
Hello! Thank for asking Wonder about how the Olympics have made the world a better place! The short answer to your question is, through the founding principals of the Olympics, many athletes have encouraged others to support human rights, sustainability, and improved infrastructure.
METHODOLOGY
I began my search looking for scholarly and media articles that discuss the positive impacts of the Olympic games. That search led me to a discussion of how the Olympics has historically been used to encourage human rights and world peace. I tried to locate specific examples of one athlete or team creating change in the world.
I found 10 stories of athletes that made the world a better place. Since you asked for 12 stories, I sought out historical instances of the Olympics as a whole that have improved the world. I included two of them as well.
FINDINGS
The Olympic charter is specifically written to prompt countries that want to participate to adhere to international human rights laws. In fact, the Olympics were reintroduced in 1894 to encourage world peace.
The principles of the Olympics are specifically designed to create a better world. The Olympics prioritizes non-discrimination, sustainability, humanism, universality, solidarity, and an alliance between sport, education, and culture.
#1. Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, Saudi Arabia
Recently, the Olympics has been pushing that all countries participating in the Olympics need to have men and women on their teams. The Olympics created the Women in Sport Commission to encourage gender equality around the world. In 2012, all participating teams had women on them. In the 2012 games, Saudi Arabia and Qatar both sent women to the games for the first time. This is a major stride for equality in Saudi Arabia, where previously, women were not allowed to participate in sports at all. Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, one of the women from Saudi Arabia, was added to the team as an effort to promote gender equality in the ultraconservative country.
#2. Megan Rapinoe, US
Also in 2012, the US soccer player Megan Rapinoe publicly came out as lesbian before competing in the London Olympics. Since participating in the Olympics, she's been a supporter of LGBT rights and was the first non-NFL athlete to take a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against African-Americans. Most importantly, she's been an active voice for equal pay in sports. Women's sports pay less than men's sports despite popularity. She uses this this platform to speak out against sexist pay scales. The US women's team won the right in court to collectively bargain their salaries which sets precedents for other women to do the same.
#3. Chris Mosier, US
Chris Mosier qualified for the 2016 US team as the first openly transgendered athlete. In January 2016, the Olympics created the standards that are used to allow transgendered athletes to compete. Before this, out trans athlete couldn't compete. This policy was in line with the Olympics commitment to human rights and non-discrimination. In many places, being transgendered is extremely dangerous, so, because of Chris Mosier, the Olympics is making important strides in inclusion for trans athletes.
#4. Wilma Rudolph, US
Wilma Rudolph suffered from infant polio. It was thought that she would never walk. In 1960, she was the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. When she returned home, she learned that her parade was to be segregated. She refused to participate until it was desegregated.
#5. Tegla Loroupe, Kenya
Tegla Loroupe competed in the 2000 Olympics but came in 13th place due to contracting food poisoning the night before she competed. Tegla Loroupe went back to Africa where she travels into conflict zone and holds races. These races bring in local and governmental leaders. Through these races, peace between tribes and countries has been negotiated.
#6. Feyisa Lilesa, Ethiopia
Feyisa Lilesa crossed the finish line in the 2016 Olympic games with his wrists crossed over his head. This gesture is used by the Oromo ethnic group that is being unjustly killed and imprisoned by the government in Ethiopia. He specifically went to the Olympics to try to draw national attention to the crisis in Ethiopia. His gesture made it so that it is not safe to return to his country. Since the Olympic games, US Representatives have joined him in raising their voices against the Ethiopian government.
#7. Magic Johnson, US
Magic Johnson competed in the 1992 Olympics, the year after he announced his retirement from basketball due to contracting HIV. One month after that announcement, the number of people getting tested for HIV in New York rose 60%. By December, it took 7 weeks to get an appointment to be tested because so many people were getting tests. He has spent over 20 years speaking about HIV awareness and trying to end the stigma against the LGBT community regarding being carriers of HIV.
#8. Guor Mading Maker, South Sudan
Guor Mading Maker was torn from his family as a child in the conflict that engulfed Sudan. He eventually was able to free himself from his captors and reunite with his family. In 2011, South Sudan freed itself as a country, and the same year Guor Mading Maker qualified to participate in the Olympics, but South Sudan was not a recognized country. He refused to betray his countrymen by competing for the Sudan team, so he was the first athlete to compete in the Olympics as the first independent athlete. This paved the way for the creation of the Olympic refugee team.
#9. Yursa Mardini, Refugee Team
A Syrian refugee, Yursa Mardini and her sister swam the boat that was supposed to take them and others to to Greece after it broke down in the sea. After being settled in Berlin, she was accepted onto the US refugee team. She uses her platform to bring awareness to the Syrian refugee crisis and the global refugee crisis. After the 2016 Olympics, she spoke to the United Nations General Assembly regarding the Syrian refugee crisis. Since then, she's won an award for her dedicated work on this issue.
#10. Ibtihaj Muhammad, US
Ibtihaj Muhammad is the first US team member to compete in a hijab. She uses her platform as an Olympic athlete to promote equality for all and to speak out against all forms of discrimination. She serves on the the US Department of State's Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative. She was singled out by President Obama for recognition because of her work defending Muslim Americans from bigotry and racism.
#11. Apartheid in South Africa
The Olympics boycotted South Africa in protest of apartheid laws. South Africa began loosening it's laws regarding apartheid in sports in an attempt to regain access to the Olympics, but maintained segregation in competition. In 1992, while South Africa was still in the process of dismantling the apartheid system, South Africa sent a multi racial team to the Olympics. The boycott from the Olympics worked in conjunction with many other factors, but did help dismantle apartheid.
#12. Democracy in South Korea
In a bid to secure the 1988 games, South Korea began to purge their government of corruption and instituted the building blocks for a strong democracy. Before the bid, South Korea was ruled by a corrupt elite that used assassinations and military power to bully its citizens. The president in 1987 surprised the world and left office at the end of his term. He ascended to the office when the former president was assassinated, and many suspected he was complicit. By relinquishing the office, South Korea was able to have a democratic election.
CONCLUSION
To wrap up, I have compiled of examples of the Olympic games creating freer countries, less discrimination, and more environmentally friendly cities. Each of these examples shows how the Olympics created a better world on social issues.
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